The present invention relates to a new and improved construction of a brake mechanism for skis, conventionally referred to in the art as a ski brake.
Generally speaking, the ski brake for use by skiers of this development is of the type incorporating two brake vanes or flaps which can be rocked out of a position above the running surface of a ski downwardly into a braking position. The brake vanes can be locked, against the action of springs, in a position above the running surface of the ski constituting an arrested position for storage and transport of the skis, and further, can be locked in a preparatory position by means of a latching arrangement when the ski is secured to the boot of the skier. The latching arrangement encompasses bushings mounted rigidly against rotation which are beveled at their outer ends and axially pressable, against spring force, into the base of the brake vane and bolts interconnected by a yoke and possessing a tapered end of lesser diameter than the inner diamter of the bushings and arranged to be axially displaceable in alignment with the bushings in a web extending transversely over the ski and neighboring the outer end of the pushed-in bushings. Moreover, in the arrested position the bushings enter the bores in the web taking-up the bolts. In the preparatory position they can be forwardly displaced out of the web by one of the ski boots located upon the ski against the action of a control mechanism which can be depressed by a spring, in such a manner that they enter into the bushings, push such out of the bores of the web and fixedly hold such in an eccentric position with regard to the axes of the bolts in the pivotal direction of the brake vane, whereby the longer part of the bushing located in the pivotal direction bears externally of the bores at the web.
Such type brake mechanism is known from German patent publication 2,311,316 in conjunction with German patent publication 2,106,108. With the known device the bolts are actuated by a control mechanism embodying two tension or traction elements extending along the lateral lengthwise edges of the ski. These traction elements can be displaced in axial direction with the aid of a bracket which can be depressed by the sole of the ski boot and are connected with a yoke extending in the transverse direction of the ski and located at the rear side of the brake mechanism. The yoke carries the bolts. Both of the traction elements of the control mechanism require a considerable constructional expenditure and need a certain amount of space on the ski. The traction elements are disturbing particularly at the inner edges of the skis which most often abut one another during skiing. Under some circumstances the traction element on one ski can become ensnarled with that on the other ski or damaged. Furthermore, the lengthwise adjustment of the traction element of each brake mechanism is relatively complicated, since it is necessary to make sure that the yoke carrying the bolts uniformly moves at both sides thereof since the bolts otherwise would tend to tilt or cant or only lockingly snap-in or snap-out at one side.